Beneath the 12-Mile Reef is a strange little movie, representative of what passed for family entertainment back in the 1950s. It stars a very young Robert Wagner, B-movie veteran Gilbert Roland, and Terry Moore, who later claimed to have been the secret wife of Howard Hughes.

Set in the Florida Keys, the story is a classic rip-off of Romeo and Juliet (at least they aimed high) with Wagner the son of Greek sponge divers and Moore the daughter of conch fishermen. Naturally the two groups wreak havoc on each other, while Wagner and Moore flit about in a bizarre courtship ritual that left us shaking our heads.

There's a fair amount of diving, all of it in old Mark V helmets, which helps save the movie. It is hilarious watching one tender remove the diver's helmet while a second immediately inserts a lit cigarette into his mouth so that he doesn't have to go one extra nanosecond without a smoke.

We can't say, though, that we recommend this movie. If it comes on TV and you have nothing else to do, go for it. Otherwise, just so no.